Brush-making machine



Sept. 11, 1923.

c. E. FISHER BRUSH MAKING MACHINE Original Filed March 22. 1920 eSheets-Sheet 1 ven-l'o'a 5. M

Sept. 1 1, 1923.

C. E. FISHER BRUSH MAKING MACHINE 6 Shee ts-Sheet 5 Original Filed March22. 1920 Sept. 11, 1923.

C. E. FISHER BRUSH MAKING MACHINE Original Filed March 22, 1920 6Sheets-Sheet 4 Sept. 11, 1923. 1,467,364

. c. E. FISHER BRUSH MAKING MACHIIINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original FiledMarch 22, 1920 Sept. 11, 1923. 1,467.364-

C. E. FISHER j BRUSH MAKING MACHINE Original Filed March '22, 1920 6Sheets-Sme t a IIIIIWQNMIIITI Patented Sept. 11, 1923.

CHARLES E. FISHER, OF BALTIHORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE FISHER AUTO-MATIC BRUSH MACHINE, COMIPANY, A FIRM COMPOSED 01: CHARLES E. FISHER ANDEDWIN BOLKER.

Application flied March 22, 1920, Serial No. 367,816. Renewed June 2,1923.

To all w/wm it may concern:

Be it known that I, Cannes -E. FISHER,

i a citizen of the United States, residing at chine to which myinvention relates is illustrated in the patent to Young, No. 578,907,

dated March 16, 1897.

In said patent, there is shown a twoart slide for collecting wisps offiber or bristle from a magazine and conveying them to a staplingmechanism, the two parts of the slide being relatively movable andhaving cut-out portions which form a notch. This notch is automaticallyopened when the slide is moved forward, to receive the fibers from themagazine, and closed, to retain the wisp, while the slide is movingbackward to the stapling mechanism and during the stapling operation.When the wisp arrives opposite the stapling mechanism, a notchedstopplate is moved into position to straddle the central portion of thewisp and to compress it into shape to fit between the prongs of a staplewhich is then driven downward by stapling devices into the brush block.

ne part of my invention relates'toan improved means, applicable to themachine of said patent, for collecting and conveying the wisps, wherebya single-piece slide hav ing a permanently open notch may be employedinstead of the two-part slide above mentioned, and whereby the wisps arecollected in a more positive way and-with less loss of fiber, andwhereby the wisps are pressed into form to be straddled by the staplewithout requiring moving parts other than the slide.

In said patent, the stapling mechanism comprises upper and lowervertically movable slides, the former carrying a rod for driving the stales and the latter carrying parallel guides or said rod which'also serveto carry the staples and the tufts to the brush block. The slides areconnected to one another through devices-which cause them to traveltogether durin the first art of the downward stroke an to move reatively to one another during the last part of the stroke, in order thatthe upper slide may continue its movement, to drive the staple, afterthe guides on the lower slide have engaged the brush block andpositioned a staple over a hole in the block. Each ofsaid slides in thepatent referredto has a movement of definite length at each stroke, andin order thatsaid parallel guides may both engage the brush blocks whenthe latter are arranged at an angle to the horizontal, the guides aremovable relatively to one another and to the lower slide, and'they havea spring connection with the latter, which causes the guides toyieldingly engage the blocks and compensates for variations in thethicknem of th blcks.

The spring connections referred to between the lower slide and therelatively movable guides for the staple and staple-driving rod areobjectionable for various reasons, and in order' to make a more positiveconnection between said guides and slide, I provide a wrist-plate on thelower slide and pivotally connect said guides to said wristplate atopposite sides of its'centel'. With this arrangement, if the brush blockis arranged in an inclined position, when the stapling devicesdescend,.the one of said guides which is first arrested by engagementwith the block will, through the wristplate, cause the other guide to bequickly thrown into engagement with the block. In order to provide forblocks which may be thicker than the standard blocks, or which may havehigh parts on the backs which raise the faces of the blocks above thenormal heights of the blocks when restingupon their support, I provide ayielding part in the connections between the upper and lower slideswhereby the travel of the lower slide may be shortened without injury tothe apparatus. Thus, in the present apparatus,

the staple guides are positively driven by the lower slide, but thetravel of the latter slide is variable according to the thickness of thebrush block.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. l'is a side elevation of the tufting mechanism of a brush machine,illustrating my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the tuft inserting devices in loweredposition;

Fig. 3 is a section 011 the ne 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a. side view, on an enlarged scale, of the lower part of thefiber magazine and adjacent parts, showing the tuft-gathering andcarrying slide in the gathering position;

Fig. 5 is a similar view, showing the slide in the delivery position;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the tuftgatherin and carrying slidehaving a notch suitable or tampico and similar fibers;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the upper wiip guide;

ig. 8 is a side view of the same;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the lower wis guide;

ig. 10 is a detail showing the wisp-gathering and carrying slide with awisp of fiber approaching the delivery point;

Fig. 11 is a similar view showing the wisp at the delivery point;

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section about on the line 12-12 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 13 is a section on the line 1313 of g. 14. is a section on the line14 -1 1 of Fig. 12;

ig. 15 is a perspective view of a part of a tuft-gathering and carrvingslide havin a notch suitable for bristles;

i 16 is a similar view showing a notch suita le for tampi co and similarfibers 3 Fig. 17 is a front elevation of the vertically movablestaple-applying guides; 7 Fig. 18 is a central vertical section throughthe same;

Fig. 19 is a section on the line 19-19 of Fig. 17; and

Fig. 20 is a section on the line 2020 of Fig. 17.

eferring to the drawing, A'iindicates a part of the supporting frameupon which the tufting mechanism is mounted. Upon the frame isarrangedga magazine 1, for containing the loose fibers or bristles 2,which are all cut to the same length and arranged parallel in themagazine. These fibers or bristles are pressed downward by a follower 3,and the central portion of the column of fibers rests upon a sliding barB, which is provided with a notch, as hereinafter described, forgathering wisps of fiber from the magazine and conveying them to thestapling mechanism.

The sliding bar B is'moved back and forth by means of a link 4, Fig. 1,which is.

connected to a lever 5, which is rocked by a cam wheel 6, mounted upon adriving shaft 7, these operating parts being indicated in dotted linesin Fi 1.

The sliding bar as shown best in Fig. 6, is L-shape in cross section.One part b sl ides in a groove in a fixed base 8, as shown in Figs.12-14;, while the other part b of the bar B extends vertically upward inthe form of a blade. This blade has a notch extending downward from itsupper surface for rethe bottom, and this form of notch is found-- mosteffective for gathering wisps of the stronger and more elasticmaterials, such as bristles; while in Fig. 16, the notch 12. 1S wider atthe bottofn*than at,t he top, and this latter form of notch is foundmoredesirable for collecting inelastic or dead materials, such astampico. notch may be integral with the bar, or separately formed andrigidly secured to thebar, the jaws remaining in fixed relation to oneanother. The form and arrangement of the jaws are important. Thus, inFig. 15, the face of the jaw 12 is convex, being substantially V-shaped,while the opposing face of the jaw b is concave, and the upper end ofthis latter jaw is rounded or beveled inwardly from the sides and top.When thebar is moved forward, that is, from right to left in Fig. 1, asthe notch travels beneath the fiber magazine the V-shaped jaw b pressesagainst the central portions of the strands and a wisp of bristles wcollects in the notch.

"Because of the shape of the opposing jaws neath the magazine to thestapling mechanism, the gui'desliereinafter referred to holding the wispin the notch and causing the central portion of the wisp to becompressed and shaped to be straddled by the staple which secures it tothe brush block. In Fig. 16. it will be noted that the jaw b is similarto the jaw b in Fig. 1 5, except that it slopes oppo'v sitely, and thatthe jaw b is similar to the jaw 6 but slopes oppositely, the two. jawsin Fig. 16 forming a notch which is nar-' rower at the top than at thebottom.

Close to the sides of the notched gathering blade are arranged twostationary guides Cand C, shown detached in- Fig. 9, each of said guideshaving upward extensions 9, which are secured to the opposite sides of ablock 10, vertically adjustable by means of an adjusting screw 11, atthe rear of the fiber magazine. These guides which may be termed thelower wisp guides, extend close to the sides of the tuft-gathering bladefor some distance from the magazine, their upper edges 0 being slightlybelow the upper edge of the tuft-gathering blade. The upper edges ofthese guides also incline The jaws of the downwardly with respect to theupper surface of the blade from a point adjacent the magazine to theends of the guides, as clear- 1y shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The guide Cextends parallel with the side of the tuftathering blade throughout itslength, and t e guide C lies parallel with and close to the bladethroughout the greater ortion of its length, the end of this guide eing.ofiset from the blade, as shown at 12, and the ends of bot-h guides areformed with arcuate recesses 13 in their upper edges. Above these lowerwisp guides are arranged what may be termed upper wisp guides D and D,

shown in detail in Figs. 7 and 8. These upper wisp guides consist ofmetal strips which are secured to o posite sides of a short metal bar14, which latter rests upon the blade of the wisp-gathering bar. Theupper part of the bar or block 14 fits into a groove 15 in a springhousing 16, secured to the frame, and it is held from sliding in thegroove by means of a pin 17. Springs 18, Fig. 5. in said housing, bearupon the bar 14 and hold it in contact with the wisp gathering blade.The guides Dand D'- extend from a point adjacent the fiber maga zineparallel with the sides of the wisp gathering blade for some distanceand are then offset outwardly in opposite directions, their end portionsd and d, respectively. lying at the sides of the end portions of thelower wisp guides and terminating in downwardly extended parts 19, whichform stops for the wisps. The lower edges (1 of the guides D and Dincline downwardly with respect to the top of the wisp-gathering bladefrom a point adjacent the magazine, and the inclined edges d and c ofthe upper and lower wisp guides form guide grooves g for the wisps asthey are carried along in the When notch of the wisp-gathering blade. awisp is being carried away from the magazine, in the notch, the endportions of the wisp roject through the grooves g, and because t esegrooves are inclined with respect to the top of the gathering blade, thewisps are pressed downwardly into the notch as they are carried to theends of the wisp guides.

The forward end of the block or bar 14 abuts against the fibers orbristles in' the magazine, and as this block bears firmly and.

. closely against the top of the notched blade,

its forward end serves as a shearing edge with which the top surfaces ofthe jaws of the notch oo-operate to make a. clean cut through the fibersand to prevent any fibers other than those within the notch from beingcarried out of the magazine.

The gathering blade carries the wisps against the depending stops 19 andstops with the notch in the blade opposite the depressions 13 in thelower wisp guides. The engagement of a wisp with the stops position tobe acted u'ponl form tufts and for applying the tufts to l the brushblocks is, in all essential respects,

the same as that disclosed in the Young patent previously referred towith the exception of the manner of mounting the vertically movableguides which carry the staple and tuft to the brush block and into thesta le driving device, and in the provision 0 a yielding part in theconnections between the slide which carries said guides and the slidewhich carries the staple driving rod. The mechanism for forming thestaples and feeding them to the staple driving apparatus is the same asin the-afore said Youn patent and therefore is not illustrated inthedrawing. The staple drivin devices comprise an upper slide E and a lowerslide F, movable in guideways 21. The upper slide is connected by a link22 to a lever 23, which is rocked by the cam wheel 6 to cause the slideE to reciprocate vertically. Upon the slide E is secured a bracketarm24, which projects laterally from the slide, and said arm carries apivot pin 25 upon which is mounted an elbow lever 26. One arm 26 of saidelbow lever carries a roller which is engaged by a stationary guide H,and the other arm 26 of said lever is pivotally connected to across-piece 27, which latter is rigidly connected by a pair of rods28-to a cross-piece 27, pivoted at 27 to the lower slid'e F.

A staple driving rod 29 is secured to the upper slide 'E and extendsvertically downward in front of the slide F and between a pair ofvertically movable staple guides 30, which depend from the slide F andare formed at their lower ends with a notch for straddling the wisp offibers and also with recesses for receiving a staple.

In the present invention, the staple, guides 30 are connected to theslide.F through a wrist-plate k, which is shown in Figs. 17 to 19 aspivoted in an openingv 32 in the slide and has pins 33 at opposite sidesof'its center, which ins project into slots 34 in the staple gui es.With this construction, it will be evident that in descendin against abrush block, arranged at an ang e to the horizontal, the staple guidewhich first comes in contact with the block will cause the wrist-plateto .rock and quickly force the other staple guide into engagement withthe block.

The guide -H has a guide slot 12. which is the same in form as thatshown in the Young patent; but in the present invention, the wall k ofsaid slot is made yielding, whereas in the patent-referred to the wallis rigid. As shown in the drawing, the wall It has its upper end mountedupon a pivot 35 and a stifl spring 33 bears against the lower end ofsaid wall and holds it in normal position.

When the wisp is carried by the gathering bar to a point directlybeneath the staplin device, the upper slide .E moves downwar During thefirst art of this movement the lower slide trave s in fixed relation tothe ripper slide because the form of the slot h is such that the elbowlever 26 cannot rock about its axis. The staple guides place the stapleover the central part of the wisp and carry it downward 7to the brushblock, the end portions of the wisp being doubled upwardly around saidguides as they leave the recesses 13 in the lower wisp guides, as shownin Fig. 5. About the instant when the staple guides engage a brush blockof average thickness, the roller on the elbow lever 26 commences to rideout into the lower in- 4 clined portion of the guide slot 71. and thisas thickness of the block.

permits the slide F to be arrested by the brush block while the slide E,which carries the staple driver, moves further and drives the stapleinto the hole in the brush block, securing the tuft thereto. As theblocks are not of uniform thickness, the part b of the guideway H ismade yielding so that in case the staple guides are arrested by a thickblock, m, Fig. 2, the outer wall of said slot will yield, as shown insaid figure, :and permit the elbow lever to rock sufficiently tocompensate for the unusual What I claim is: 1. In a brush-makingmachine, the combination with a fiber magazine and stapledrivingmechanism, of a reciprocating bar having a notch for gathering wispsfrom the magazine and conveying them to said mechanism, and guides atthe sides of the bar for depressing the wisps in the notch as they arecarried toward said mechanism.

2. In a brush-making machine, the combination with a fiber magazine andstapledriving mechanism, of a reciprocating bar having a notch forgathering wisps from the magazine and conveying'them to said mechanism,means for depreming the wisps in the notch as they are carried towardsaid mechanism comprising upper and lower guides arranged at the sidesof said bar and having their opposed faces inclined with respect to thetop of the bar. ,1

3. In a brush-making machine, the combination with a fiber magazide andstapleanism, said driving mechanism, of a reciprocating bar having anotch for gathering wisps from the magazine and conveying them to saidmechanism, and guides at the sides'of the bar adapted'to bear on the wis5 while they are being carried to the stap e driving mechuides havingdownwardly turned ends a apted to be engaged by the n a brush-makingmachine, the com-,

bination with a fiber magazine and stapledriving mechanism, of areciprocating notched 'bar for collecting wisps from the magazine andconveying them to said mechanism, lower guides extending at the sides ofthe bar and having recesses in their upper sides adjacent saidmechanism, and upper guides on opposite sides of said bar, said latterguides having end portions extending laterally outward beyond therecessed portions of the lower guides and thence extending downwardly toform stops for the wisps.

6. In a brush-making machine, the combination with a fiber magazine, ofa reciprocating bar having a notch with relatively fixed and oppositelyinclined jaws adapted to gather wisps from the magazine.

7. In a brush-making machine, the combination with a fiber magazine, ofa reciprocating bar having a notch with relatively fixed and oppositelyinclined jaws, the face of one of said. jaws being convex and the faceof the opposing jaw being concave, in

-cross section.

8. In a brush-making machine, the com-

